


Burnwounds and Bitemarks

by Lieutenant_Lionheart95



Category: Rammstein
Genre: Also Richard is being a nosy wingman and wants to hear all the details, Benzin, F/M, Firefighters, Gen, I promise it worked at least in my head while writing, Music video inspired, Romance, There's an age gap (but I promise it's all legal and will work with the plot), alternative universe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:14:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 12,592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28046022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lieutenant_Lionheart95/pseuds/Lieutenant_Lionheart95
Summary: A typical night shift at the fire department isn't so typical after all.There's a house fire call and an unconscious girl trapped in her apartment.One of the firefighters gets a weird feeling after saving her life.
Relationships: Paul Landers/Original Female Character(s), Richard Kruspe/Paul Landers/Till Lindemann/Christian Lorenz/Oliver Riedel/Christoph Schneider
Comments: 6
Kudos: 14





	1. First Flicker

Night shifts are never easy. But you don't mind it too much, as you are doing something that's important to you and the people around you. Sure, a career path of a firefighter isn't for everyone. Sometimes there's the rare situation when there's a lot of calls during a shift. Sometimes there's barely anything. It's a bit morbid, sure, but sometimes you really wait that something more extreme happens. So most of the time, when not on a call, guys simply spent time at the fire department. Each of them had their own way.  
How on earth could Schneider have 20 minute power naps whenever he wanted and yet be up, awake and ready for call every time when needed, other guys would probably never know. Flake sat in his quiet corner like always, either reading something or doing a crossword. As always, he didn't talk much if it wasn't absolutely necessary. Though sometimes he went through the to-do list, he was the paramedic of their team, and if necessary, there was some basic duties that had to be done until other first responders could get to the scene. Richard and Ollie were usually playing pool or cards to spend time between the calls. Till made sure they ate enough during the breaks, shifts were long and took a lot of energy and similarly Paul took care of the coffee breaks, caffeine naturally kept them awake. Suddenly there was an alarm.  
"Somebody get Schneider up, we gotta go!", Till ordered, getting his jacket on. Being quick and calculated as always, Flake was already in the truck, again going through his necessary to-do list just in case like usually.  
"Schneider, get your ass up, the alarm is going off!", Richard called. In a blink of an eye all of them were in the truck and within the next ten minutes they were on a route.  
And like many times before, they were the first at the scene. The notification they got while on route was correct, mostly strong smoke everywhere, but no much visible flames. It was one of the slightly fancier three-storey buildings. Thankfully most of the residents had gotten out already, so the firefighter's job was mostly to locate where the fire had started and put it out. Most strongest smoke was coming from the second floor. There was some flames too, but they arrived just in time before it got worse. Few of the residents needed some simple check ups, and while that was happening, they happened to mention that "hopefully that young girl from the third floor is okay".  
"What young girl?", Flake lifted his brow and checked the list of the residents. True, there was supposed to live a young woman in her twenties too. But he hadn't seen her, she hadn't needed medical help. Unless..  
"Till? Is everyone out from the building already?", he called.  
"Schneider is still checking, why?", he asked, while getting some more basic information from the residents and Flake explained what he had heard. After all, they had a protocol to follow. Richard and Paul were more focused on handling the powerful water hose when they heard it.  
"What? There might still be someone inside?", Richard had to shout, though the gushing of the water still managed to almost drown his voice.  
"And on the third floor?", Paul added, glancing at the windows of the building. Simply having to follow the protocol, Schneider was still somewhere in the middle of the second floor. They too heard the mention that there should live a young girl, alone, with no close family or roommates or other friends anywhere nearby. At that same moment they heard Schneider's voice from their radios.  
"There's a lot of smoke coming from the elevator shaft, this starts to feel like an electrical fire.."  
"Is it controlled?", Till asked.  
"At the moment, yes, but the smoke is almost black! The elevator doors are still closed, they are keeping it down as we speak!"  
"Continue checking the rooms and get the to third floor as soon you can, there could still be residents trapped in their apartments!"  
"Could be? Till, you know there's at least one person up there!", Paul groaned.  
"Paul, you know the protocol, we have a certain way how to do things and.."  
"To hell with the protocol! Nobody is gonna die on our hands, not on my watch!", he shouted, let go from the hose and rushed inside, following his partner.  
"Damn it, Paul, don't let go of the hose without a warning!", Richard shouted too, Ollie had to rush to help him before the water pressure swept him off from his feet. And so, while Schneider was still checking the rooms on the second floor, Paul rushed directly to the third. Many apartments on the third floor however were quiet, other than occasional fire alarms blaring loudly here and there. 

Neighbors didn't know her name, but knew enough that the third floor only had few residents, most of them lived on the first and second floors. Those couple of other younger women, who also happened to live on the third floor and had gotten out without any problems, nodded that they remembered seeing another young woman living there too and they made his searching much easier as they were able to tell her apartment number. And he did find the correct door just in time. Thanks to the smoke, the poor girl was unconscious, but didn't look like she was injured too badly. Schneider, after clearing the last rooms on the second floor, managed to cut the electricity from the elevators before the flames would fully engulf the whole shaft.  
"Where's Paul? He rushed inside too", Richard called.  
"He went straight to the third floor, I think he's still there.."  
After they had waited for a moment, he finally came out from the building, carrying the girl on his arms. Flake rushed to check on her as he laid her on to the stretchers. She was very weak, but reacted to his waking up attempts and managed to open her eyes a little bit. Now that she was able to breath fresh air again, her condition was getting slightly better, but very slowly.  
"She is gonna need some hospital care, one more ambulance is coming in a moment", Flake nodded when doing the basic check up he could. Paul simply nodded back and looked at the girl for a moment. Probably a very wrong moment to think something like that, but she was quite pretty. He guessed she was maybe mid-twenties, she had shorter dark hair and seemed to have blue eyes.  
"Landers, you lucky bastard, it seems like you managed to save a life", his colleagues praised. When the ambulance arrived to take the girl to the hospital, Flake talked with the other paramedics, who he happened to recognize, for a moment, sharing the information he had collected.  
But for the rest of the shift Paul was quiet. Sure, it did feel good to save a life, but something was different this time. During the next break back at the fire department he just sat alone and sipped his coffee.  
"Flake? I know this might be unethical, but you wouldn't happen to know the hospital where that girl was taken? I mean, you did recognize those other paramedics and..", he asked suddenly, as nonchalantly as he possibly could. Flake lifted his gaze from the crossword he was filling again and adjusted the glasses on the bridge of his nose a bit.  
"Maybe not fully unethical, but at the very least slightly questionable. Why do you ask?"  
"I.. I just have this feel.. That I should check on her.."  
"Paul, she is in good hands now. You did your part."  
"I know, but.. I just would like to be completely sure.."  
"Fine. Let me make a phone call or two. I'll try my best."  
Just one time. It shouldn't be too bad. Paul just wanted to be sure she certainly was doing okay now. His colleagues, mostly Richard and Schneider, smirked all brotherly that he had fallen in love with her. No, he simply wanted to check, just once. Most likely she wouldn't even remember him, being half-unconscious when he had saved her. But if what he had heard was true, that she didn't have any family or friends nearby? She was all alone in the hospital. The responsability was lifted from his hands when the paramedics arrived, true, but he felt somewhere deep inside that he had to do this. Until then, his duty wasn't done. 


	2. Inner Turmoil

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer. The reason why she is very exact about the topic she wants to learn about is because she's loosely based on myself and I want to study the mentioned topic. I have a bunch of books and everything already but you know, going to study isn't exactly possible at the moment, so I have to wait some more time.

After getting home from the shift, Paul had some troubles to fall asleep. Sure, during the full shift he had drank at least two pots of coffee, but this was something different. It was that girl. He had done his part, getting her out from the burning building before anything worse happened. She was where she belonged now, in the hospital getting treatment. It wasn't his problem anymore. But still, he felt like he should check on her, just for his own peace of mind. But would it be weird? Maybe a bit creepy even? The girl was young enough to be his own daughter. But then again, if she really was alone in the city, who else would come to check on her? Before finally falling asleep, Paul promised to himself he will check on her only this one time, after all, he didn't want to scare her. He didn't even know her name and had seen her for maybe five minutes. Yes, just one, quick visit, it shouldn't be too bad. Maybe it would even make her feel better, that someone really cared?

The next day was a day off from work anyway, so he wasn't in a hurry to go anywhere else. But then, when already waiting at the door that the nurse would say it was okay to visit, he thought about it again.  
Was this really a good idea? He sure as hell didn't want to look like a stalker. If only he knew her name, then it maybe could be better. But he just wanted to check on her, nothing more. He literally had those little figurative angel and demon on his shoulders giving him opinions.  
"It's fine, you did your job and simply want to check that everything is okay. If anything, she should thank you for saving her life. There's nothing wrong with one friendly visit", the angel promised.  
"Though she won't probably even remember you. Besides, she's pretty and much younger, she would never be interested in an old geezer like you. Just drop it, somewhere out there probably is a boyfriend already who is coming to check on her anyway..", the demon pointed out. Paul sighed. This was probably a bad idea. But he didn't want much, only to see that she was feeling better. So, when the nurse said it was okay to go for a visit, he cautiously knocked on the door.  
"Come in", a soft voice called from behind the door. Paul didn't even get any words out from his mouth when she smiled seeing him.  
"I remember you, you were the firefighter who saved me. I know I was weak yesterday, but I remember getting a quick glimpse of your tattoo", she smiled shyly, nodding towards the stylized sun around his neck, a little tip of the sun's rays was showing from under his shirt's collar.  
"I'm happy to see you are already feeling better. I know this probably is weird since we don't know each other.. But I just felt I should check that everything is okay. And I brought you these..", he blushed slightly.  
"That was very nice of you. Other than the nurses and a couple of doctors, no-one has been checking on me. My parents live in another city and since I'm a legal adult, I don't think they have even been notified I'm in a hospital", she shrugged and smiled softly as he gave the flowers to her.  
"For fully understandable reasons I didn't get to hear your name last night..", he started, scratching his neck a bit.  
"I'm Erika", she smiled, adding that other than the quick glimpse at his tattoo, she had only gotten another glimpse at the name tag on his jacket, but it only showed his surname Landers.  
"Paul", he nodded and after a moment of awkward silence, when he already had a thought that maybe he should leave now, they started to talk. 

Erika told him she had originally arrived to the city because of studying, but wasn't accepted in the university yet.  
"I'll try again the next semester, my godmother is a teacher in another city and she wants that I can study whatever I happen to want, my passion is to read political history", she shrugged.  
"Oh, that's interesting. Do you have some special topic in mind or just general history?", he asked.  
"Second World War and why things happened here in Germany how they did", she nodded.  
Paul had to whistle, that was quite ambitious topic to be interested in, especially as a young woman.  
"My granddad was a also a teacher when he was younger, he promised that when he passes, he will leave all his history books to me. I'm his only granddaughter aside from four grandsons, when two of them are entrepreneurs, one is in financial business and one in medical field", she said.  
Paul simply nodded, he too had tried odd job or two before finding his own place as a firefighter.  
"I worked in a library for some time, though mostly in the boiler room, the place had to stay warm especially during winter months.. It wasn't really my thing, but at that time it was better than nothing at all..", he shrugged. 

Neither of them noticed how time simply flew past while they talked. Erika didn't have too many friends yet in the city, since her original plan was to study there, so she thought it was just nice that she had someone to talk to now. She didn't even have to think twice before saying yes when he suggested they could grab a coffee or something when she gets out from the hospital. She and Paul talked for a couple of hours, until he finally said he should leave now so she could rest.  
"It was really nice to meet you, Paul. Please say thank you to your team too from me, you all did your part after all", Erika smiled. Paul took his coat and nodded that he would do so.  
"Oh, I almost forgot! I know you firefighters must be busy with your work schedules, but here's my number so we can grab that coffee", she remembered before he left and gave him a piece of paper.  
"That sounds like a plan. And I'm glad that you are feeling better already. I guess we'll see each other later then", he smiled too. But after leaving the hospital, he thought for a moment what just happened.  
Erika was a very nice girl and quite pretty too, but she was what, maybe like 25 or so? Paul, though he wanted to think he looked at least a bit younger than his age, was already over 50. He looked at her number for a moment. Maybe grabbing a cup of coffee for once wasn't too bad?  
"Maybe these modern youth just are more trusting than back in my day..", he thought, after all, a girl at least half of his age had trusted to give him her number just after a couple of hours. He decided to wait for at least a day to two before calling her, he didn't want to look desperate or anything. And well, if she would ask why he didn't call earlier, he could use a little white lie and say he got busy with work, firefighters did have tight schedules after all.


	3. Caffeinated Heart

During the next work shift Paul was quiet. Other boys thought it was kind of weird, he was usually the one who was loud, always talking and making jokes. But now he was very quiet, just sipping his coffee. Richard sat next to his best friend of at least last 30 years and lit his cigarette.  
"Paul-chen? Is everything okay? Do you wanna talk about something? You are kinda quiet and to be completely honest, it's not normal to you..", he shrugged.  
"I'm just fine, Reesh, you don't need to worry about me..", Paul sighed.  
"It's just weird to see you all quiet, you are usually the one who is always talking here.. And I thought you visited that girl at the hospital? Did something happen with her?", Richard wondered.  
"Oh no.. Please don't tell me a boyfriend or something was already there and it got all awkward.. I know you were worried and just wanted to check on her..", he added.  
"No, it's not like that.. I did visit her though, it went fine, we talked for a while.. Her name is Erika. It's just.. I don't know. I know I meant well but I still think I did something wrong anyway.."  
"But there wasn't other guy.. Oh, did she have a girlfriend instead?"  
"Reesh, you pervy moron, no! She's a very nice girl, but she came here to study.. And for the love of God and everything that's holy, please don't say anything about school girls.. But I kinda asked her out, and.."  
"Wait, so you scored a date? Like a date date? Isn't that a good thing?", Richard wondered again, dropping some ashes from his cigarette.  
"Well, it's not exactly a date, at least not in my books, we just thought it could be nice to grab a cup of coffee.. But I don't know.. She is very pretty but young enough to be my own daughter.. Don't you think it's weird? I mean, I know you and Till like your women a bit younger than you are, but.."  
"Paul, you are my best friend, so I think I can give you my honest opinion. It's just a cup of coffee, not like a dinner at some fancy restaurant, you know. Just one simple coffee date isn't a too big deal. It's still casual enough without the pressure should something more than that happen. Been there, done that, trust me with this one", Richard shrugged, now blowing a couple of smoke rings. Paul bit his lip and took another sip of his coffee.  
"I mean, look at you, man. You don't even look like you are fifty.. Something?"  
"56, at least the last time I checked, if you want to be completely correct."  
"Yes. Anyway, back to my point. Don't think it as a serious date. If there is a spark, excuse the pun, there is time for more serious dates later in the relationship. Hey, who knows, maybe she is one of those modern girls who are looking for a bit older guy anyway, you just don't know her that well yet? And you are a firefighter for heaven's sake, girls are weak for guys in uniforms anyway! And if you manage to score a second date, that's still casual enough, but I wanna hear all about it!"  
"Of course you would! Now let me drink my coffee before it's completely cold", Paul just chuckled. Richard did have a bit more luck with ladies than he did, but because of exactly that, he usually knew a bit better what to do. And he was right. It's just one simple, casual coffee date, nothing too fancy or serious. And well, if there really was a partner already somewhere, he could still step back and not get involved. He had read enough horrible news about women who had gotten in danger because of a jealous ex partner who had attacked them after learning the women were seeing someone else behind their backs and he didn't want to put Erika in danger like that. But it had been a good while since any kind of date of sorts for him, so this could be a nice change too..  
And so, when they agreed to meet on Paul's next day off, Erika was already feeling good enough that she was able to leave the hospital.  
"Why do I feel like a teen boy waiting for his first date..", he thought while glancing at the clock. But then a huge grin rose to his lips when he finally saw her.  
"Hey Paul! I'm really sorry you had to wait! I'm so scatterbrained, I almost didn't find my keys before leaving and the janitor's aid costs at least 50 euros at my apartment..", Erika apologized.  
"Don't worry, I didn't have to wait for too long", he promised. Her blushing was mostly cute. Since Erika didn't know the city too well, she was more used to stay at her apartment most of the time, she was more than happy to try any coffee place he suggested.  
"Well, I do know this one good place..", he shrugged and they went there.  
Honestly, Paul could have basically lived with just on coffee, but he didn't care too much about any special flavors. Sure, sometimes it was nice to try something new, but he was a simple guy who needed just basic coffee. Though he wanted to be a gentleman and pay for her coffee, and asked what she wanted. Erika glanced at the list and thought for a moment until finding what she wanted.  
"White chocolate and double vanilla latte with whipped cream, caramel sauce and cinnamon sprinkles, please", she smiled.  
Their little coffee date went quite well. They talked for a couple of hours while sipping their coffees. And just like during the visit at the hospital, they didn't notice at all how the time flew past. After a while Paul had started to relax. Maybe this wasn't so bad thing after all like he had feared at first. Sure, there was some age gap, but at least Erika didn't seem to mind it too much. On the contrary, she seemed to enjoy his company quite well. Maybe he still had that mandatory amount of charm after all? And well, like Richard had pointed out, he didn't exactly look like his age. At least in his own mind, he was still a bit closer to mid forties than late fifties. Well, not too bad at all. Also he was very happy that he wasn't yet too old for modern things that she knew better so he actually understood what she was talking about, at least he tried.  
But like all the good things, their date had to come to an end sooner or later.  
"I had a lot of fun with you, Paul. I'm mostly just at my apartment, I don't go out much, just getting the groceries and stuff when necessary. I mean, I would like to go out more often, but I'm so shy..", she shrugged innocently. Shy, she says, and still agreed to go on a coffee date? Yeah, sure.. Well, just asking shouldn't hurt, right?  
"So.. I was just thinking.. Would you possibly like to go out again some time?", he asked. Oh, the sweet smile that rose to her lips.  
"Oh, I would like to! I know you must be busy with your work, so whenever it would suit you the best", she smiled. Paul smiled too, though Richard would totally want to hear all about this..  
But just before they parted their ways, Erika gave a little kiss on his cheek. Being completely honest to himself, Paul didn't even remember anymore when was the last time he had gotten a kiss from a pretty girl.  
A good amount of time ago, that was for sure.  
"Well, see you later, Paul!", she giggled and he nodded, coming slowly out from his trance.


	4. Next Step

During the next work shift Paul was more sharp and focused again, and actually talking, and not just sitting quietly with his cup of coffee.  
"Well, someone looks happy. How did the date go? Remember, I wanna hear all the details. Don't be too shy to tell", Richard grinned when noticing it.  
"It went well actually, thank you for asking", he nodded, flashing his almost too perfect grin.  
"How well exactly? You know that when you say it like that, I'm gonna be curious for the rest of the shift", Richard groaned, he really wanted to hear some gossip, he didn't care they weren't teens anymore. And well, Paul did comment on that.  
"Why do you ask, we are not teenagers anymore?", he pointed out, lifting his brow a bit.  
"Maybe not, but I still want to hear all the details. You are happy like a puppy after getting a huge bone. Come on, we are best friends, have been for three decades and counting, give at least something to me! Anything really!", he huffed. Paul thought for a moment, he knew well what Richard actually meant. First of all, he sounded a bit jealous. Secondly, it wasn't technically any of his business. Thirdly, Paul knew he wouldn't stop pestering him until hearing at least something..  
"I think I can guess what you really wanna know and the answer to that is no, we did not sleep together", he finally shrugged all nonchalantly and sipped his coffee.  
His answer still made Richard to squint his eyes slightly suspiciously.  
"But something must have happened anyway, you act differently than before the date."  
"If you really must know, she did gave me a little kiss before we parted ways, but that's all."  
"Now we are talking.."  
"Don't get too excited, it was just a little peck on the cheek. I actually wanted to ask something from you, if you would stop being a horny hound for long enough."  
"Sure, anything", Richard nodded immediately, also filling his coffee cup.  
"Just a hypothetical question, and once again, don't get too excited, but what could be a casual enough place for a second date? You know, I don't yet know her too well to know what kind of movies she likes or something.. But the coffee date went well, and she seemed interested enough to go out for a second time, but I don't wanna rush anything.. With the age gap and everything.."  
Richard thought for a moment. One small challenge was that they had different taste with women. The women whom Richard went out with liked to get pampered and visit any fancy places, but this girl seemed to be very sweet and down to earth, at least the way how Paul made her sound like.  
"Well, I think the best way would be if you simply asked what she wants, so you won't accidentally choose something that doesn't interest her. Trust me, I screwed up with that once or twice.. But well, for a second date going out to eat is already a better choice, just as long as it's not some very fancy restaurant, but something simple and casual. As long as she doesn't follow some specific diet, even some nice fast food place could be good, that is usually a safe enough choice."  
"Reesh is right, you can learn a lot about someone by taking them out to eat", Schneider shrugged when also walking in the kitchen and started to fix his smoothie, he had at least one during each shift, depending on how busy they happened to be.  
"And you do have her number after all, right? Just give a casual "hey, how's it going, you know, I was just thinking, what would you wanna do" kind of call to her", he added nonchalantly, while snacking on the cucumber slices he was cutting, then throwing them, half of an avocado, couple of kiwi fruits, few drops of pure lemon juice and some soy milk into the blender.  
"Only one follow up question, how can you drink that stuff? No offense but thanks to that green hue it looks more like a witch's brew", Richard asked, pointing at the glass he was filling soon after it.  
"It's quite good actually, you should try sometimes", Schneider shrugged, sipping his smoothie.  
"Thanks but no thanks, I'm sorry but I like my meat too much", he groaned slightly.  
Paul just chuckled and drank the rest of his coffee, Schneider liked to try to offer his diet to the others too.  
"So anyway, you both are saying that I should take her out to eat?", he asked.  
"Something simple and casual, nothing too fancy", both of them nodded approvingly.  
That whole shift was quite calm, so Paul had a lot of free time to think about different choices.

Paul's next day off happened to be on a Saturday. Those day offs were his favorite, because it meant he had the full weekend free as another squad was on the shift. And he would have lied to himself if he didn't get nice warm feeling inside of him when calling Erika and they talked for a good while.  
"So, I was just thinking.. Is there something you especially would like to do?", he asked.  
Her answer was the best possible he could have hoped for.  
"Well, I happened to see an ad about this one burger place.. Their servings were very tempting looking. And like I mentioned, I don't know the city too well yet, you wouldn't happen to know where it's located?", she asked innocently and told him the address that was mentioned on the ad she had seen. A perfect coincidence was that he actually did knew where it was located. It was one of the few burger places that served vegan stuff that met with Schneider's high demands, as they had grabbed food from there for a few rare occasions when Till had been too lazy to cook.  
"Yeah, I know where that is", he nodded immediately.  
"Should we meet there then? Maybe two o'clock?", she asked. It sounded like a perfect plan. Paul glanced at the clock over his shoulder. It was little past noon, there was no hurry for over an hour. There must have been much worse ways to spend one's Saturday afternoon, that's for sure. But he was a lucky guy, getting to spend that time with a pretty girl.  
It sure was a perfect Saturday afternoon. And since neither of them was in a hurry to go anywhere in particular, they had enough time to simply walk around the city. Of course Paul was an absolute gentleman and offered his arm to her. Any other guy she had been on a casual date with haven't been such a polite gentleman towards her like he was being. It made her feel very special.  
"A penny for your thoughts?", Paul asked when Erika was quiet for a moment.  
"Oh, I was just thinking.. When is your next shift?", she asked innocently.  
"On Monday..", he shrugged.  
"I just wanted to ask.. If you don't have something else to do.. Would you wanna go out later tonight again? I.. Would really want to visit a karaoke bar I saw once when I was going to the grocery store. But my mom has always said I shouldn't go alone to an unfamiliar bar, even though I don't drink much.. But I understand if you already had other plans..", Erika blushed a bit.  
"My weekend is completely free, I'm not in any hurry until Monday. If you really want to go, I would be more than happy to join you", Paul promised immediately.  
His heart almost melted when seeing the smile on Erika's face. And he understood well what her mother meant by not going to an unfamiliar bar alone. Erika was after all a young and pretty girl, and seemed to still be quite innocent for her age. Some guys with much worse intentions could have done something bad to her.  
They decided to meet again a few hours later. Before it, Erika had a few mandatory errands to run and she also wanted to have enough time to get ready. And well, Paul had kinda promised to meet Richard at some point, so he had a perfect amount of time to do that too. And a little bit later when arriving to his residence, Richard happened to be on his balcony smoking a cigarette.  
"Hey Paul! What's up? Come on in, the door is open", he nodded and crushed his cigarette against the ashtray.  
"So, how did the second date go?", Richard asked immediately and offered him coffee.  
"Quite well, we will see again later tonight", Paul shrugged nonchalantly while sitting on the couch.  
"Hold your horses, cowboy! A date night already? You have to tell me every detail", Richard grinned when hearing it.  
Paul simply rolled his eyes and reminded him again they weren't teenagers anymore.  
"Look, unless she initiates it, I don't think we would do like you probably are imagining and would be making out like horny teens in some shadowy corner", he simply chuckled.  
"Never say never, maybe it will happen exactly like that", Richard laughed too.


	5. Date Night, Part I

Paul and Richard talked for a while while drinking coffee, he wasn't in any hurry for a few more hours.   
"Well, I think I have to go now. There's isn't too much time anymore, I gotta get ready. Thanks for the coffee though, I won't probably sleep at all tonight", Paul chuckled ironically.  
"Take it as a favor, just in case you happen to need extra energy", Richard just winked.  
"Reesh, you are sometimes gross, you know that?", Paul rolled his eyes.   
"Not as halfly as gross as Till can be sometimes", he just shrugged and reminded again that he wanted to know every detail about the date. When leaving, Paul just called behind him that they weren't teenagers anymore. Though he had to admit that he was kind of interested to see how the evening would progress. If he would score just a simple peck again, he would be more than happy. But he wanted to be a gentleman, and absolutely not to make her feel uncomfortable.   
She had even mentioned that she didn't drink much. It was actually a bit of a surprise to him, he had thought modern youngsters liked to go out and party a lot. Well, maybe some did, but Erika wasn't one of them. Maybe it was just a good thing, Paul thought for a moment, he didn't drink much either, maybe just a glass or two out of courtesy but no more than that. He had tried enough when he was younger himself. Erika was a very sweet and innocent girl, but technically saying that she "didn't drink much" shouldn't mean she didn't drink at all?   
Paul just thought that maybe he should be a gentleman and at the very least ask could he offer her just one drink, if that was her limit? Just asking shouldn't hurt and if she didn't want it, of course she could say no, he would totally understand. And even if she didn't want any alcohol, some kind of soft drink was always a choice. At least then some complete stranger wouldn't try to offer her a drink and maybe make her feel uncomfortable. Yeah, it sounded like a plan. After all, offering a drink was just polite. 

When waiting for her near the bar's door, Paul couldn't help but smile when seeing her. For a moment he had been worried was he possibly under-dressed with just simple jeans and slightly better casual shirt, after all, he had seen many girls around Erika's age to dress up in high heels and quite short dresses just for a bar night. But no, she wasn't that kind of girl, and she too had chosen some nice pants and a pretty top.   
At first he was gonna ask did she walk all the way there, she could have called, he would have picked her up. But then he thought that maybe, just maybe, they still didn't know each other that well yet. Young girls like her probably grew up with warnings about not to get in a stranger's car after all.. But he wasn't that much of a stranger anymore.. And this was a third "date" already..  
"A penny for your thoughts this time?", Erika asked innocently, seeing the wondering expression on his face.   
"I was just thinking do I need a suit and tie but I see this is just fine", he said immediately. His answer made her to giggle a bit. Why screw up an evening that is clearly starting all nicely, Paul thought and offered his arm to her.   
Erika had dolled herself up a bit for the night. Paul didn't understand much about make up, but he did notice she had done quite nice manicure with some golden nail polish, it worked well together with her necklace. He also didn't understand much about the fake lashes some girls used, but the ones she had on weren't too over the top, just slightly longer and a bit more thick than her natural lashes. Mostly they just made her look even more like a sweet little porcelain doll.   
At first they just sat at a table and talked for a while, sipping some soft drinks.   
"Do you sing by any chance, Paul?", Erika asked.   
"Well, back in school I was in a class choir for a while.. I managed to hit some quite high notes back in my day, even if I do say so myself.. But I have dabbled with some guitar here and there after school..", Paul shrugged.   
"I played a bit of piano back in elementary school, but my fingers were too short to play anything more difficult than the most basic starting songs", Erika giggled. Her laugh was so soft. And she sure loved to sing. Paul simply sat and watched, smiling a lot.   
"No wonder she wanted to visit a karaoke bar..", he chuckled. Erika also admitted that since she didn't drink much in general, she didn't have much of a tolerance, so depending on the drink, two or three was her absolute limit. It sounded completely legit, so maybe just one drink wasn't too bad. And knowing her limit made it sound like she had at least tasted alcohol before.   
"I have tasted, a couple of times at my apartment", she shrugged nonchalantly.   
"When I still lived at home, my dad drank a lot, so I'm not much of a drinker myself. But once I got enough age, I wanted to at least try, as many of my friends back in my home city drank and partied a lot already. I never went to parties though, just hanged with a friend or two and tasted their drinks a little bit. I kinda liked some creamy stuff one of them had, her aunt had given it to her. And the other had something more fruity, it was more sharp in my taste, but still okay", she added.   
"Creamy stuff sounds like cream liquor or something like that?", Paul guessed.   
"Yeah, that sounds about right, I think it had a tiny caramel like tinge in it", Erika nodded. He asked very politely could he offer her one drink, if she wanted, the bar should have something she would like. Erika smiled and nodded, but added that she will only drink if he has some kind of drink too. One drink sounded okay and she tried her best to explain to the lady behind the counter what her friend had tried once and had suggested that to her too if she wanted to try it sometime.  
"May I see your ID first, miss, you look a bit young to be at a bar", the lady nodded while listening to her.   
"Sure", Erika nodded immediately and showed her ID to her. The lady was pleased that despite her a bit not so legal looks she did have enough age and offered a different choices of drinks depending on what she had told what it should have. The one having some sweet rum, blank orange juice and just a little dash of mint liquor sounded most closely like the one what she was meaning.  
"And something for the gentleman?", the lady added.   
"An Irish coffee, not too heavy on the cream", he shrugged. It was "some kind of drink", even if it was mostly coffee, it still had a dash of whiskey in it.


	6. Date Night, Part II

Some other customers said that Erika had sang well. She smiled politely and sipped her drink. However, some of these other customers who were talking to her, mostly drunk men, came back from time to time. Paul clearly noticed she didn't like it too much. And so, when the men left her alone for a moment, Erika glanced up at him.   
"Paul? Can I sit next to you? I would feel a bit more safe", she asked quietly and he nodded immediately. Neither of them wanted to leave just yet only because of couple of drunken morons and Paul just instinctively wrapped his arm around her shoulder, it made her feel much more safe. When seeing it, those other men finally left her alone.   
"Well, now I understand what mom meant by not going to an unfamiliar bar alone", she shrugged. Snuggling against Paul's side felt quite nice. It felt soft and warm and safe. She was happy.   
After some time they finally decided to leave. After another drink, Erika had clearly met her limit, and she had some slight problems to stay on her feet.   
"I'm really sorry, Paul.. This is why I don't drink much, I meet my limit quicker than I think..", she apologized, holding tightly on to his arm.   
"It's okay", he promised simply and like a true gentleman, he helped her back home.  
"Can I ask you something?", she mumbled, giving him the keys to her apartment door.  
"Sure, anything", Paul nodded and helped her inside.   
"Could you stay over night, please? I know I don't work too well with alcohol, I don't want to be alone.. If it's not too much to asked for.. There's extra pillows and blankets in that cabinet.."   
Especially when hearing that Erika didn't work well with alcohol, Paul didn't have a heart to leave her alone.   
"Of course I'll stay if you want that", he promised immediately. After expelling some quite nasty demons Erika managed to get ready for bed. Paul stayed up a bit longer to make sure that she was sleeping peacefully and wasn't in a risk to vomit again, and after that he looked around a bit, before falling asleep Erika had said he could make himself feel like at home. He did check the cabinet where the extra pillows and blankets were and picked up some of them. 

However, he was a gentleman and let Erika sleep peacefully in her bedroom, the couch was enough for him. When taking off his collar shirt, Paul had to smile a bit though, it wasn't every day you get pretty girl's lipstick prints all over your shirt collar after all. Sure, he too had been at least a bit tipsy, but he hold the alcohol better than she did. And even though Erika had managed to talk all coherently even when being drunk, she had swayed a bit, it was a good thing she wasn't wearing any high heels, and she clearly was not in a best possible state.   
Even if she had wanted, especially after getting a bit handsy, there was no way anything else would have happened. Sure, he wasn't counting on it in the first place. Erika was a very sweet girl, and there clearly was some kind of spark, but she wasn't in a coherent enough condition to give her consent for anything like that. Paul did check on her a couple of times during the rest of the night so she wouldn't suffocate or anything, though he was quite sure she had managed to get everything out already. And other than being slightly pale, she seemed to be okay.   
"She's almost like Snow White really..", he thought for a moment. After all, she did have fair skin, dark hair and even though the nice shade of red lipstick was now smudged a bit, the clear resemblance was still there. Paul didn't mind, not at all, Snow White was one of those few classic fairytales even he liked.  
In the morning Erika was already feeling a bit better, even though the headache was still there.   
"I sure hope I have some painkillers..", she huffed a bit and slowly got up from the bed.   
She didn't remember much about the evening. The evening had been fun, that much was sure, but she had underestimated her tolerance again.. Wait a minute. She did remember enough that because of her drunken state, she couldn't have reached home alone. Then she heard quiet snoring from the living room. Paul. He had been with her during the night, had helped her and was still there.   
For a moment Erika had been sure he would leave during the night, there wasn't any strings attached or anything.. She was just a foolish girl who got too drunk. And he had a work shift the next evening anyway.. Though Erika was kind of surprised Paul seemed to sleep like a log on her couch. After having some occasional naps on it, she didn't find it especially comfortable to sleep on. But it was a gift from a couple of relatives when she had moved into her own apartment, so it was nice enough, just not for good sleep in her mind. But then again, being a firefighter, Paul was probably used to sleep on a not so comfortable bed from time to time.   
"At the very least I should wash his shirt..", Erika thought, blushing, noticing the marks from her lipstick on his shirt collar.


	7. Tea and Tension

Erika didn't wake him up though, with his busy work schedule, probably any peaceful sleep was more than welcome.  
"He still has the good looks for his age, a little bit of silver in his hair is just charming.. I bet he was even hotter when he was younger..", she thought to herself and tip toed to the laundry room.  
After a while, however, she decided to wake him up for breakfast.  
"Good morning, Paul. I hope you slept well", she smiled.  
"Good morning, Erika. Yes, actually, I did. I usually sleep well when I have free weekend anyway", he smiled too. Oh, that smile was so perfect and almost melted her right where she stood.  
"I, um.. I just hope tea is okay.. I don't drink coffee much so I don't own a coffee machine..", she blushed a bit.  
"It's okay, don't worry about it", Paul smiled. He just thought her blushing was adorable.  
"Well, there's tea in the leftmost top cabinet, there's a lot of options, and sugar and honey are in the one on top of the oven, at least there should be milk in the fridge, the cups are on your right and the cutlery is in the second drawer, you are free to take whatever you want", she explained, still blushing, and added that if he didn't mind, she would have a quick shower first. Well, it was her apartment so no, he didn't mind and tidied up the couch a bit after getting up.  
"Erika? Have you seen my shirt by any chance?", he called after a moment noticing it wasn't where he had left it when going to sleep.  
"It's on the clothesline on the balcony, I took a liberty to wash it while you were sleeping!", she called back over the rush of water in the shower. Paul just shrugged to himself and decided to check was it dry enough already to wear.  
When coming out from the shower, Erika had to remind herself once again that he worked as a firefighter, so obviously he had to stay in shape. And, as she noticed, in quite fine shape indeed.  
"And he said he's in his fifties yet he looks like at least a decade younger than that..", she thought for a quick moment while disappearing back into her bedroom.  
"You sure have a lot of interesting sounding tea flavors here", he commented nonchalantly, checking the cabinet on his left where she had said the tea was.  
"My friends know I love tea, and when I moved in here, they brought a lot of it as a housewarming gift", she laughed a bit. Coffee was more Paul's thing, but tea was okay for him too.  
"Ginger and lemongrass.. Turmeric and raspberry leaf.. Lavender and aloe.. Chamomile and cinnamon.. Rhubarb and peppermint.. Some of this stuff sounds a lot like something Schneider puts in his smoothies..", Paul shrugged to himself while checking the little boxes on the shelf. Erika wasn't kidding, there sure was a lot of different options and some of them sounded really nice.  
"Who needs at least thirty different flavors of tea though..", Paul did think for a moment.  
"Vanilla and caramel is my personal favorite", Erika commented innocently from behind him, twiddling with the hem of her nightgown. Paul almost forgot how to breath for a moment. Erika sure was pretty in a long nightgown, that still covered anything private, and slightly damp hair on a lazy bun.  
"Vanilla and caramel, sure, that sounds good", he nodded, though it did sound a bit too sweet for his taste but she liked it so it must be good. After all, it was a normal, simple Sunday morning. Erika glanced at him every once in a while when noticing that yes, his shirt was still drying on the clothesline.  
"What, you haven't seen a shirtless guy before?", Paul chuckled as nonchalantly as possible.  
"Well, not in a while, that's for sure..", Erika was still blushing a bit.  
"Or that fine for that matter, he's quite hot..", she shrugged to herself.  
"Erika, you horny bitch, concentrate, he's a guest, not an eye candy!", she thought. Paul simply tilted his head a bit while lifting his brow. Erika had to admit to herself that he happened to be in a much more fine shape than guys around her own age she had seen shirtless.  
"How a guy in his fifties can have a six pack like that? He looks more like he's in his thirties..", she thought again, biting her lip a bit.  
"Not to interrupt anything that's going on in your head, but you are staring at me quite intensively", he pointed out.  
"Oh, sorry..", Erika couldn't help but blush even harder. Honestly, Paul was mostly just flattered because of it. There sure seemed to be a spark between them. And that spark was growing.  
And this time it wasn't just a simple little peck. Though Erika still blushed strongly afterwards.  
"Sorry.. I shouldn't.. I'm just a foolish girl who got too drunk..", she bit her lip.  
"It's okay, don't worry", Paul promised, softly brushing a tuft of hair behind her ear. She was sure he would have some other kind of reaction. Like something along the lines that he wasn't interested or that she was too young for him. True, she had been a bit drunk during the night, but it was morning now, she wasn't drunk anymore. And if she was completely honest to herself, it had been a while since she had kissed anyone like that.  
"So.. If it was okay.. Would you maybe wanna try again?", she asked shyly. She looked so cute, rocking back and forth on her feet.  
"Sure, if you want that", he smiled.  
Paul spent most of the Sunday at Erika's place, after all, he wasn't in any hurry until Monday evening. He even turned off his phone when noticing several missed calls and messages from Richard.  
"Shouldn't you answer to that?", Erika lift her brow slightly.  
"It's just Richard, I'll see him tomorrow at work", Paul shrugged. She just smiled, maybe her new home city wasn't as boring as she had first thought. At least there was quite a hot firefighter. Many girls would be jealous of a guy like that, that's for sure.  
"Well, if you ask me, this sure is one fine way to spend Sunday", he grinned.


	8. An Awkward Moment

Then he was quiet for a moment.  
"I do want to ask you something", he said.  
"Sure, what is it?", Erika asked innocently.  
"I was just thinking.. I know that we have officially met just a few times.. You don't seem to mind it.. I mean.. I'm old enough in this equation that you could be my daughter and.. I guess I'm trying to say that you could find someone else who is better than me.. Not that I'm ancient or anything..", he blushed strongly. Erika just smiled and gave another peck on his cheek.  
"Whatever you try to say, just take a deep breath first and listen, please. I know this can be weird, but I promise I really don't mind the age gap. I have tried dating guys my own age and while it was okay, it just wasn't meant to be that way. But I also know that some people say how younger women like me are getting into relationships with a bit older guys only because of money. That's not true, at least not in my case. You are really nice to me, and not a creep, like some guys could be. I.. I was honestly worried you would say that I'm too young..", she mumbled then, also blushing and twirling a tuft of hair around her fingers.  
Well, Paul had to admit, at least to himself, that Erika was one of those girls who simply looked younger than their real age forever. Honestly, if she hadn't mentioned her age during some earlier conversation, he could have easily thought that she was 17 or 18, not in her mid-twenties.  
"You.. Don't mind it?", he had to ask and she just smiled. Hell, maybe Richard really was right and she was one of "those girls" after all. Now was Erika's turn to get quiet for a moment.  
"I get it though, you probably think I'm just a promiscuous wench and after your money.. You are just too much of a polite gentleman to say it out loud.."  
Was that a tear in the corner of her eye?  
"No, absolutely not, it's nothing like that! This.. Whole thing.. Just is something new to me, that's all. Look, I just have never before even tried to date a woman who is much younger than I am. But I always wondered as a couple of guys in my team always have said that they date younger women and that it's fine. I'm probably the one who is doing things wrong here since I have no prior experience of what I should or should not do.."  
After a moment of awkward silence, both of them started to laugh. The situation was clearly quite new to both of them.  
"You are a brave firefighter and you did your duty when you saved me", Erika admitted.  
"Any of my guys would have done so, I was simply the first to react..", Paul just shrugged.  
"Speaking of which.. I think I have to check my phone.. Richard is gonna blow it up sooner or later if I don't answer..", he added.  
"If he hasn't done so already", Erika had to giggle. 

Paul had to whistle as he opened his phone, there was nearly 100 missed calls alone and couple of dozen of unanswered messages in their casual group chat too, most of them indeed were from Richard, though few occasional ones here and there were from the others.  
Paul knew that Till didn't message much, he cursed regularly that the keypad of a modern smartphone was way too tiny for his huge fingers so if he had something to say, he usually called. Very few occasions when he did message them was just to check that the team knew about possible schedule changes so he didn't have to call each of them separately, and the boys had quickly learned to read through his spelling mistakes.  
Like usually, Ollie and Flake just talked about some mundane stuff they hadn't had a time to talk about during the work hours, though there was some "please make Richard to shut up"-kind of messages too. It seemed like he had been bugging the others too when he wasn't answering.. And Schneider, who chose to completely ignore Richard, simply asked was Paul still up for their boys's night on their next free Saturday. He had honestly already forgotten about that..  
"I think I have to answer to this.. Just a moment..", Paul nodded after reading some of the messages.  
"I understand if you are busy..", Erika bit her lip a bit, though Paul reminded her that he wasn't in any hurry until Monday, gave a little kiss on her cheek and went to another room to talk on the phone for a moment.  
"Reesh, please stop blowing up my phone, isn't nearly 100 missed calls enough?", he asked.  
"Yeah, I saw the messages. Sure, that sounds good.. Just before seven? Sounds like a plan to me. And no, I'm definitely not obliged to answer to that. You spend way too much time with Till. All I will say is that I'm busy. I'll see you tomorrow at work, bye", he ended his call.  
"Let me guess, he was either curious or jealous?", Erika had to ask, hearing the tone in his voice and very carefully put her arms around his neck.  
"Something like that, yeah", Paul nodded.  
"You can tell him, if you want to, I don't mind", she added.  
"At some point, maybe, but not right now", he chuckled a bit.  
Paul left later in the evening, he wanted to be a gentleman and not to overstay his welcome. He had obviously memorized all of his basic schedules so they were able to tentatively plan when they could see each other again. With his long shifts, Paul was obviously busy, but he promised to meet her again whenever he was able to. And well, Erika was honestly happy with anything.


	9. Deep Contemplations

When the next work shift was starting, the other boys noticed immediately that something had happened during the weekend.  
"Well well, somebody has a spring in his step! Care to finally tell what happened?", Richard just had to ask.  
"I had a nice weekend with Erika, that's all you need to know. Please tell me there's coffee, I need my caffeine shot", he just smirked.  
"Come on, Paul, I need to know! I'm happy for you, but I really wanna hear the details!", Richard shouted after him and finished his cigarette. Paul just grinned and disappeared into the kitchen.  
"You had fun with the young lady?", Till asked it in a more polite way and offered him a cup of coffee, Ollie and Flake were busy with playing cards and Schneider was having his power nap.  
"You could say that, we grabbed a bite to eat on Saturday, went to a karaoke bar later in the same evening and I kinda stayed at her place almost the whole Sunday", he shrugged.  
"And Reesh, before you ask, no, we did not sleep together. I was a gentleman and slept on the couch. Sure, I might be in a good shape for my age, but I'm not a teenager anymore", he added before he indeed could ask about it.  
"Being both horny and jealous does not suit you too well", Schneider pointed out all nonchalantly after waking up from his nap.  
"All I wanna know is that my best friend is happy", Richard huffed.  
"I'm getting a hang of it that I'm quite lucky to get a girl her age..", Paul admitted.  
"See, now you understand why I date younger women", Till chuckled.  
While Paul was at work, Erika called her friend and told her about this literally hot firefighter she had gone on a few dates with. Her friend knew that she had her eye fixed on at a bit older guys.  
"You know that I tried dating guys my own age, but it didn't work out too well. You remember that one guy I told you about, from a few years ago? Yeah, I know, he was older than me too, but he was a cheater since the start. This one is different, I swear. He's really nice to me. Honestly, I think he's more confused than I am. No, seriously, you should see him! And I thought I looked younger than my actual age, same works with him too. He says he's in his fifties, I like the fact that he's being honest, but he looks closer to a forty-something. He spent the weekend at my place. I appreciate that you care about me, but no, we did not do the naughty.. We have had only three dates so far, it's too early for that. Also I was kinda drunk, we visited a karaoke bar on Saturday night. He was a gentleman though and slept on the couch..", she explained.  
After the phone call she mostly daydreamed about that weekend. Everything was simply so perfect. There clearly was a spark between them. And it seemed like neither of them didn't mind about the age gap too much. Erika did understand well that at first Paul must have been at least a bit worried since she did look younger than her actual age. During a summer job she had even been asked is she fourteen and doing some school thing. She had just smiled awkwardly that no, she was in her mid-twenties already by that time. But this was something different, he really cared about her. He was actually quite adorable being so confused about the spark that was going on between them.  
"He's probably just more used to date ladies his own age..", she simply thought. 

Whenever he had enough time to spare, Paul checked his phone if there was a message from Erika. And every once in a while, there was a message indeed. Just something short and sugary sweet. A casual going out had quickly turned into something more serious. Well, as long as she was happy, he was happy too. She knew it would take some time before he was able to answer even if he did notice the messages, so she called to some other friends too.  
"You clearly like that guy", her friend pointed out and Erika admitted that she was correct.  
During the call they just laughed that maybe she should send some nice photos to him, after all, he was stuck in a long work shift. Why wouldn't he like to see some occasional, of course tasteful, photos? After all, she wouldn't need to show everything at once, just "a little peek", so to speak. And so, she took a nice simple selfie of herself and send it to him with a text "I miss you, handsome, hopefully your shift goes well".  
Sure, the photo didn't show too much, but it did happen just enough without a warning that Paul almost spat his coffee out when glancing at his phone during their break.  
"I wasn't expecting something like this..", he coughed. The photo wasn't anything too risqué, her blouse simply had a couple of buttons undone, just enough to show a glimpse what she had under it. Quite fancy looking, deep red satin with black lace and some golden embroidered details.  
"Gotta admit, she's like an angel, that sure is a nice sight for sore eyes", Richard and Schneider just had to comment as they were walking from behind him, getting a glimpse at his phone.  
"Just shut up, both of you", he huffed and answered to her that he was doing just fine.  
"She's probably too good for me anyway.. She's young and pretty and could get any guy she wanted..", he thought for a moment after sending the message. But it was quite nice and flattering too that she seemed to be interested anyway. He wasn't sure how long this would last, maybe it was just a simple little crush? Honestly, Erika seemed to be so sweet and innocent, maybe she was doing all of this just because it was a silly little crush on her part, only because he was just doing his job?  
Thinking about it made Paul go all silent again for the rest of the shift.  
"Paul? It's never a good sign when you are silent for too long. Do you wanna talk about something?", Till asked when noticing it, the others were again doing their own things.  
"I was just deep in my thoughts.. I'm not like you, I'm not sure if dating a much younger woman is my thing.. Erika is very nice and sweet girl, but getting her out from the burning building was just my job. Any of you guys would have done the same, I was simply the first one to react.."  
"Let me guess, you are worried that it's just a little crush and you are also stressing you are falling for her anyway?"  
"Something like that, I guess.."  
"Maybe it is a crush, but if you just give it a chance, the actual romance might really happen. I know you have been going out just for a couple of times, both of you must still be a bit confused. Trust me, I have dated enough younger women to give some tips", Till chuckled and Paul smiled a bit.  
"You are right though, I am a bit confused still.. I mean, I was just doing my job. I didn't think I would go out with the same girl.. And to be completely honest, at first I was a bit worried because of the age gap.. You saw her too, she looks a lot like she's in her late teens..", he shrugged.  
"So? You too look more like you are closer to your late forties than mid-fifties. The biggest mistake you can make now is to stop talking to her, don't do that. Like you said, she's a nice girl. Try some more, if it really is just a little crush, it should be over sooner or later", he pointed out. Paul just nodded, Till knew these things better than he did.


	10. Dance With The Devil

Even if they weren't able to see every day, they at least called each other as often as they could. Paul let Erika do most of the talking, he simply liked to listen to her, though this time he did have something important to ask from her.  
"Erika? Can I ask you something?", he finally asked after a moment.  
"Sure, what is it?", she wondered.  
"Well, I was just wondering.. There will be this charity ball for a good cause. Would you give me the honor and join me there?", he asked. Of course she said yes, it sounded nice.  
"I'm not much of a dancer though, but I want to try", Erika added. Paul just chuckled that he didn't dance much either, but even just trying could be fun. He was also extremely happy that she said yes, otherwise he would have been the only one of their team who would have been alone. He knew that both Schneider and Flake would bring their wives and Till, Richard and Ollie planned to bring some casual lady friends too.  
Despite being married, Schneider still said his honest, of course polite, opinions about women, as long as he wasn't cheating on his wife. She knew well that her husband had been bit of a wild guy when he was still single and obviously he still had an eye for the ladies. Obviously many girls liked uniforms, and a firefighter was as fine as a police officer or something.  
The charity event was set on the next Saturday evening, so Erika had a few days to find something nice to dress on. This was quite exciting, especially since she wasn't too used to go to actual dances of any kind. She didn't even dance that much, but even trying was counted for credit.

And so, on that Saturday evening little bit before seven, Paul waited for her outside of the venue, and obviously being his best friend, Richard waited with him.  
"Don't you have a lady friend here too?", he chuckled a bit as he lit his cigarette.  
"Yeah, but she saw some of her friends at the venue, so I came to have a smoke", he shrugged.  
"In other words.."  
"I want to get a glimpse at your lady too."  
Paul simply rolled his eyes, he should have guessed that. Honestly though, it was actually a good thing that Richard had decided to wait with him too.  
"I have to say, man, she's gorgeous", he gasped and almost dropped his cigarette. Erika was dressed in a long, sleek hot pink dress and matching high heels, which were about ten centimeters high, and she had a fancy looking necklace of a matching shade of pink too, simple earrings and a small black clutch. Both boys just had to admire the sight for a moment. With the heels on, she was slightly taller than he was but he didn't mind at all.  
"A cat got your tongue, huh?", she giggled. All he managed to do was to nod slowly.  
"You sure are a lucky guy, Paul-chen..", Richard admitted. When they stepped inside the venue, the other boys had to say the same.  
"She's literally making him appear much younger than his actual age", they chuckled a bit.  
"Just look at him, that grin isn't gonna leave his face anytime soon!"  
"So, who's the girl exactly?", the ladies got interested too and they explained.  
"Say what you want, guys, I have taught him well", Till just had to grin.  
"Simply because he happened to be single and we others are either married or in otherwise steady relationships already", Flake rolled his eyes and readjusted his glasses a bit.  
"Honestly, it was just a matter of time until he too would find someone", the boys pointed out. 

The charity event went quite well. There was occasional drinks and some dancing involved.  
"Well, this has been fun, but missis and I have to leave, we gotta release the babysitter before midnight", Schneider chuckled after over four hours of socializing at the venue.  
"We have to get together like this more often", his wife nodded approvingly.  
"We could go to my cabin sometime", Till suggested nonchalantly. One by one, each pair started to leave, nearly five hours of mingling was enough, especially for the ladies with their heels.  
"I had a lot of fun, your teammates and their partners were really nice", Erika smiled.  
"I'm happy that you are happy", Paul smiled too and called them a taxi. He decided to not to ask any questions how on earth Erika had managed to walk on high heels all the way from her apartment to the venue, a journey of at least a couple of kilometers even with a brisk walking pace, but he wasn't gonna let her walk back since now she was a little bit tipsy. And after a few drinks he wasn't gonna drive either.  
"May I guess, you still don't like to be alone after drinking?"  
"Yes, you may, and no, I don't", she giggled.  
"Would you like to have some company over?"  
"That would be very nice."  
When the taxi arrived to the apartment complex's yard, Erika finally took her heels off.  
"That whole event was nice, though heels like this are not meant for dancing..", she giggled.  
"I'm simply happy that you had fun", Paul smiled again.  
"There's pizza in the fridge from yesterday if you are hungry, just put it in the micro for a few minutes if you don't want to eat it cold", she remembered and opened her hair from a high bun.  
"I noticed that you have dyed your hair since the last time we saw each other. That's a really nice shade of copper. I have tried red hair too when I was a bit younger, though I think my shade was closer to mahogany or something like that..", he said. Erika smiled, some men didn't notice little changes like that too easily, and it was nice that he also made the correct difference between the shades.  
"Do you like it? I wanted to try something new", she asked and Paul nodded that it fit her very nicely, though he politely added that darker hair was still even more flattering shade for her. Erika blushed a bit, she too liked darker hair better, but occasional red was a nice change.

And Paul couldn't help but notice that from some certain angles the fabric of her dress got quite see-through.  
"Oh.. It's that very nice looking set she send a photo of earlier..", he noticed, seeing a tiny bit of black lace peeking through the soft fabric.  
"Make yourself feel at home, I'll go to have a shower", she smiled. Paul nodded and sat on the couch, loosening his tie a little bit. Dressing up in fancy suits wasn't too much his thing, but thankfully it wasn't necessary too often. Sometimes, like in a situation like this, it was okay. A classic black suit worked like a charm though. It was charming enough that Erika just had to grab his tie when she came out from the shower.  
"I might still be slightly tipsy, but the shower helped a little bit..", she giggled.  
"Are you completely sure about this now?", he checked, just being a gentleman.  
"If you are politely asking am I coherent enough to give my consent, yeah, I'm sure.. I mean, if you don't want to, it's okay too.. I just thought..", she started to blush, gripping her towel.  
"I just don't want to hurt you in any way, you are such a sweet girl. If you really want it, I'll do everything I can to make you happy", he promised, stroking her cheek softly.  
"You are so nice to me, Paul.. Despite the age gap and everything..", she was still blushing and twirling his tie around her fingers.  
Honestly, it was more than enough that she was of legal age and consent-minded, though she clearly was a bit naive for her age too. She happened to be one of those girls who just looked younger, but in a very pure, innocent way. Oh, just her giggling alone was almost enough to melt him down. This girl was like an angel. Erika smiled, took a better hold of his tie and pulled him into her bedroom.  
Scratch that. She wasn't just an angel. She had both the angel's halo and the devil's horns.  
"I can't argue against the facts, that made me feel nearly thirty years younger. A rush like that doesn't happen too often, not even at work..", Paul simply had to admit while catching his breath.  
"I'm happy that you liked it, I liked it too", Erika nodded, cuddled up to him and pecked his cheek. He just smiled, though he knew well that at least couple of the boys would want to hear all about this..  
"How about we have a lazy Sunday again?", he added and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. It sounded like a great plan.


End file.
